


The Strange Case of Dr. Combeferre and M. Montparnasse

by J_E_McCormick



Series: The Strange Case Of Dr. Combeferre And M. Montparnasse [1]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Jekyll and Hyde AU, hello and welcome to a new AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-19 23:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3628290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_E_McCormick/pseuds/J_E_McCormick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Combeferre looks at the vial of liquid. This is his life’s work – a medical solution to human cruelty, a treatment for evil. A way to separate, forever, the evil thoughts of man from the purity of his heart. The good it could mean for the world is immeasurable; an end to all wars, an end to murder, to oppression and hatred and every bad thing the human race struggles with. Gone will be the urges to kill, to hurt. Left behind, only kindness and goodness.</p><p>It is a dream Combeferre has battled towards his whole life, and now, he holds it in his hands.</p><p>(Jekyll and Hyde AU, wherein Combeferre is Jekyll, and Montparnasse is Hyde)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Strange Case of Dr. Combeferre and M. Montparnasse

**Author's Note:**

> This may or may not be part of a larger and more encompassing series, but for now it is just a oneshot. This is a really cool AU epically-scottish-big-b on Tumblr and me have been discussing at the moment, and I actually for once got an urge to write a thing, so I did. And here it is! Hope you like it.

Combeferre looks at the vial of liquid. This is his life’s work – a medical solution to human cruelty, a treatment for evil. A way to separate, forever, the evil thoughts of man from the purity of his heart. The good it could mean for the world is immeasurable; an end to all wars, an end to murder, to oppression and hatred and every bad thing the human race struggles with. Gone will be the urges to kill, to hurt. Left behind, only kindness and goodness.

It is a dream Combeferre has battled towards his whole life, and now, he holds it in his hands.

Of course, it is not yet fully recognised – it has been perfected on animals, but human trials are essential. And no-one is willing to grant Combeferre test subjects. Without human trials, his medicine will never reach its potential, will never free the world of its evils.

There is only one way to proceed: test the drug on himself. His colleagues may protest to him using others for this test, but they cannot protest this. He is willing and informed; he is able to make his own decisions; he is aware of the risks and wishes to proceed still. Which brings him here – staring at the small, unassuming vial of liquid in his hand, preparing himself to go on, to risk himself for the better of all mankind.

“It is worth the risk.” He murmurs to himself, steeling his resolve. He opens the vial, brings it to his lips, and swallows the mixture. The taste is bitter, and burns his throat.

“Drug has unpleasant taste and sensation.” Combeferre mutters to himself, picking up a pen and starting to jot down notes.

“A spreading feeling of warmth – a brief burning sensation before dissipating.” He writes a moment later, wincing as the feeling courses through him.

“Extreme light-headedness… dizziness… Feeling of euphoria…” Is what is written a few minutes later, in shaky writing as Combeferre attempts to keep himself balanced and upright. A fit of giggles hits him a moment later, and he collapses down into his lab chair.

A small while later, and he has come down from the euphoric high – his head has cleared, and he no longer feels dizzy nor any burning in his limbs. He feels no ill effects – though, he cannot be sure he feels any beneficial ones either.

“Side-effects have subsided – there do not seem to be long-lasting harmful symptoms.” Combeferre writes down with a smile. “Extended study on behaviour will now begin.”

He sets down his pen with a satisfied smile, running a hand through his hair. Already, small successes – the concoction is not poisonous to the human body, has not killed him. The side-effects could perhaps be lessened or eliminated with further refinement, and the taste as well perhaps, though that wasn’t so important-

Combeferre’s thoughts are torn from their path when pain erupts through him, feeling almost as though his insides are being shredded. He cries out, leaps back in an attempt to escape to excruciating pain. He briefly thinks that he should note this down, but the agony is crippling and he collapses, writhing and screaming. Black begins to creep into the sides of his vision; he almost imagines he can feel something inside him, something moving, something fighting him for his body; his throat is raw from his desperate cries, and his heart thumps fast in his chest.

The blackness swallows his vision completely, and he has only a moment to think that this must be death and that his work has failed, before his consciousness slips away.

~~::.::~~

Combeferre awakes in his lab chair. He isn’t sure how he came to be there, nor how long he has been unconscious for – there is a slight ache throughout his body, the feeling of sore muscles, but no more of the terrifying agony. Once he has recovered for a few minutes, he drags himself upwards, out of the chair and over to the desk his notebook sits on, intending to make note of the pain and the loss of consciousness. He stops, however, when he sees notes he doesn’t remember making, written in a hand just slightly different to his.

_This feeling… so strange. So new._

_I am a changed man. I have no inhibitions. I feel so alive. For once I feel free._

_I am alive at last._

The words seem scrawled, hasty – there is a note of excitement to them. Combeferre cannot remember writing them for the life of him. At the bottom of the page, the writing continues – again scrawled and hurried – and the words shock Combeferre beyond words.

_I found myself tonight._

_The alleys and shadows revealed to me who I am. I am no longer Dr Combeferre, confined by the judgments of society and my own doubts. I am a new man tonight. I am free, finally free._

_I am Montparnasse, and I am truly alive at last._

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback would be hugely, HUGELY appreciated, even just little comments and crits - I feel like my writing has really been sucking recently if it has been coming into existence at all, so…. yeah, it’d be really nice to hear some feedback. Thank you!


End file.
